Press Release:
EASTER COCAINE SEIZURE BY CUSTOMS AT DOVER
Customs officers working at Dover's Eastern Docks over Easter have seized approximately 20 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £800,000. The officers stopped a Nissan Pathfinder car as it disembarked from a ferry on Good Friday morning, 21 March 2008. A search of the vehicle revealed the drugs hidden in cans of fruit in shopping bags stowed between the seats.
The 47 year-old driver of the vehicle, Edmund ANDERSON, of Flat 24 The Mews, Bearwood Road, Smethwyck, West Midlands and two female passengers, Paulette CHAMBERS, aged 48, of the same address and Ambrozine HERON, aged 76, of 55 Ravenoak Way, Chigwell, Essex were arrested, interviewed and subsequently charged with smuggling drugs into the UK. The three appeared at Dover Magistrates Court on Saturday, 22 March and were remanded in custody until Thursday 27 March.
Bob Gaiger, HM Revenue & Customs spokesman in the South said: "Customs vigilance has prevented this cocaine from reaching its destination. We will continue to work to the Government's aim of reducing the availability of Class A drugs. Customs provide round the clock cover at Dover and the port should not be seen as a soft touch during public holidays."